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 BANK P.O. EXAMS
SPECIAL

■ Global Financial Crisis

Descriptive ■ Skilled Workforce for Development

Questions ■ Empowering Street Kids

■ Strengthening Rural Job Scheme

Global Financial Crisis economic imbalances may be highly

Descriptive In what ways could the global
Questions are financial crisis impact Indian
economy?
asked in Bank P.O.
The observation or cryptic comment
Recruitment Exams.
that ‘when America sneezes the rest of
The purpose of these the world catches cold’ may be partially
tests is to assess the enable and partially not. Being the largest
writing and economy, if anything goes terribly wrong
on the American financial front, countries,
expressing
capabilities of the big and small, cannot remain unscathed
from its ill effects. There is both optimism
candidate, as well as
and a cautious call to those who hold the
assess his/her reins of financial institutions,
knowledge about manufacturing and service sectors in India
various issues. to remain vigilant as the unpredictable
misplaced. The importance of
strengthening regulatory institutions for
banks and insurance companies has
already been underscored by recent
developments in the US.
If Companies in general and the
software industry in particular, were to
lose their lustre, it would be a long wait
for the next star to appear in the East.
Skilled workforce for
development
The demand-supply gap between the
skilled and the non-skilled workforce
in India could retard its fast and

developments on the global economic
scenario unfold.
There is no denying that no country
has become an economic power of any
consequence during the post-World War II
period without the US help. As the US
economy convulses from financial
turbulence now or in future, the dreaded
“R” (Recession of the Thirties of the
previous century) word has perhaps
already kicked in. We should always bear
in mind that the unfolding crisis has
reverberated in domestic share markets.
Nervous foreign investors have already
withdrawn billions from the markets in
2008. It is feared that other capital
inflows like Foreign Direct Investments
may also slow down.
Since India’s economy in general and
financial sector in particular has become
Contents or Translation of contents of this document must not be reproduced in any manner without prior permission.
sustained economic development.
Comment.
Despite the fact that global economic
meltdown could and would impact
economic growth in varying degrees,
India cannot afford the slow-down in
economic development. Since the
economies of the world, both developed
and the developing, have been closely
integrated with one another, there are fair
chances that the process of economic
growth and alleviation of poverty
programme may be hit for a while, but for
a country like India, with its vast natural
resources and huge manpower potential,
there should be no big hurdle and hassel
in its march towards becoming an
economic power in the years to come. In
order to turn our dreams into reality,
there is an urgent need to think of ways
© The Competition Master.

increasingly integrated with the rest of
the world, it would be unrealistic to
expect the slowdown in the US and the
world economy to not have any influence
whatsoever on this country. The crisis in
international capitalism holds a number
of important lessons for India. It sends
out a warning signal to ardent advocates
of liberalisation that blind faith in the
virtues of market forces correcting
and means for India Inc and academia to
collaborate for preparing a world-class,
competent, talented and innovative
workforce.
Our wide rural-urban divide, and the
quality of education available, the paucity
of talent is indeed becoming a cause for
concern. The demand-supply gap is
already being felt by India’s burgeoning
Information Technology industry and

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BANK P.O. EXAMS
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fears of the gap widening in the
future are being examined carefully
so that we may not be caught in the
maze of demand-supply chasm.
What stares us in the face are the
growing skills gap and insufficient
availability of high-quality college
education and the galloping pace of
country’s service-driven economy,
which is growing faster than most
countries in the world.
In order to overcome this
glaring gap, percentage of youth
going in for higher education has to
be increased/improved quite
substantially. Problems associated
with the dearth of competent and
qualified faculty, funding, language,
outdated syllabi have to be properly
analysed and addressed to in a
time-bound framework.
The time is ripe for us now to
remodel the Indian education
system by various programmes,
joint initiatives and other measures
by individuals, the government,
industry and academia. Such
activities have the potential to play
an important part in plugging the
talent gap in future. Training
individuals for the jobs of the
future and allowing to visualise
what is possible today will not only
make a difference in their lives but
will enrich our communities now
and for years to come.
Empowering street kids
There is an urgent need to
empower and rehabilitate street
kids to insulate them from
falling into wrong hands.
Comment.
If our problems are aplenty, we
have the requisite potential too to
solve them provided there is visible
concern and compassion for those
who are deprived and dispossessed
of parental love and social security.
In the category of street kids we
can include waifs runaways,
orphans and the like. Leaving them
to their fate and turning our faces
away from them is not only an
invitation to our own peril, but also
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a blot on our being called civilised.
The longer the street kids are
exposed to exploitation and
insecurity, the larger gets the scars
in the form of these very kids
becoming anti-social elements in
later life and posing a grave threat
to social harmony, peace and poise
in individual lives.
The first step to tackle the
problem is to open vocational
training centres exclusively for
them. This way their energies would
be used properly and they would
become productive members of our
society. Both the government and
the NGOs will have to come forward
to shoulder this responsibility.
When the proposal gets going
there is no doubt that these kids
would prove their worth and social
relevance by exhibiting a sense of
confidence and self-worth. In this
way they would prove their
usefulness as worthy citizens ready
to face the world and generate
livelihood for themselves and their
family. The training so envisaged
could be given in various trades,
such as electrician, refrigeration
and air conditioning mechanic,
cutting, tailoring, computer
technician and so on. For the
proper development of these
unfortunate children, facilities like
games and cultural activities should
be made an integral part of the
agenda of empowerment and
rehabilitation. Like other school
going children, the street kids
should also be provided with
nutritious diet during their training.
Strengthening rural job
scheme
Suggest some effective measures
to plug loopholes and leakages
in the implementation of
National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme.
There is no denying that there
are “loopholes and leakages” in the
government’s Programmes that
guarantees employment for the
rural poor. The following measures,
if taken in the right earnest, can go
a long way in plugging the
loopholes and leakages.
In order to make rural
employment scheme successful the
authorities should put in place an
“evaluation mechanism” and involve
legal aid cells to create awareness
among the people who are going to
be benefited from these schemes.
The need to mobilise public opinion
along with the media for the proper
and purposeful implementation of
the programmes, as also to plug all
loopholes and leakages that come
to notice, is urgent, immediate and
highly imperative.
Since a ‘faulty design’ of any
scheme, however august it may be,
would result in failure,
improvement of the programme
would have to be a continuous
process. Periodic evaluation should
serve as feedback for improving the
implementation process from top to
bottom. The rural poor have to be
educated that the programme was
not simply supply driven but had
granted to them the right to “ask,
seek and get guaranteed
employment. Under no
circumstances should they be
allowed to be exploited or taken for
a ride by officials or contractors.
The legal services authorities have
an obligation to give free legal aid
to aggrieved persons. Lok Adalats
should take a pro-active role in this
regard and a concerted action plan
by the vast network of State legal
service authorities can stand as
bulwark against any exploitation or
irregularity.